Saturn-Neptune alignment signals monkeypox outbreak

(24 May 2022) Just as Covid winds down and begins to recede into memory, world health authorities are back on alert following an outbreak of the monkeypox virus. Originating in Africa, the index case of the current outbreak was diagnosed in the UK in early May and has since spread to a dozen countries, primarily through male homosexual contact. While the total number of cases is still very small at 200, the media machine is nonetheless whipping up fear as government officials closely track its spread. Coincidentally(!), the WHO has been meeting in Geneva in recent days to discuss a proposed pandemic treaty to better coordinate the global response to these kinds of infectious diseases.

Perhaps not so coincidental was that this new viral threat has emerged just as Saturn forms an exact 30 degree alignment with Neptune. Both Saturn and Neptune are associated with illness and disease, with Saturn as the traditional significator of illness, while Neptune is the modern planetary significator of sickness and weakness. The period around their geometric alignments therefore make these kind of diseases more probable as their energies reinforce each other and become strong enough to breach the threshold of manifestation.

While the 30 degree alignment is not a traditional Vedic aspect, I have found that all angular separations of any 30-degree multiple can manifest the significations of the planets, for good or ill. The current Saturn-Neptune alignment is made all the more potent since Saturn is approaching its retrograde station on June 4. Any planet near its station become more powerful, so the potential effect of this Saturn-Neptune alignment is amplified by the proximity of Saturn’s imminent reversal of direction.

The monkeypox outbreak could even be said to partially fulfill a prediction I made on December 29, 2021 in my New Year’s astrological forecast. At that time, I suggested that the Saturn-Neptune-Lunar Node alignment in April might coincide with some kind of pandemic-related setback, such as a new variant:

Overall, the 2022 New Year’s chart looks challenging. The strong Neptune influence here suggests pandemic concerns are likely to continue. The April alignment of Saturn with Neptune and the Lunar Nodes looks like another possible setback in that respect, possibly signaling a new variant or perhaps new evidence of waning vaccine efficacy.

Instead of a new variant, it seems we have a whole new virus to worry about now. Although I was off in my timing by a month, the key Saturn-Neptune alignment is still front and center. Saturn was just one degree away from its exact alignment with Neptune in April, and now in May and throughout June, it will be just a few arc minutes away (one degree = 60 arc minutes) from the geometrically resonant 30 degree alignment.

Today, for example, that difference is just 1 arc minute as Saturn is at 1 Aquarius 04 whereas Neptune sits at 1 Pisces 03, according to the sidereal zodiac, Krishnamurti ayanamsha. Saturn will station retrograde on June 4 at 1 Aquarius 10 whereas Neptune will be at 1 Pisces 11 — again just 1 arc minute of difference from that resonant 30 degree alignment. The exactitude of the alignment is a bit concerning for possible disease impact, even if most health experts currently do not expect monkeypox to become a full-blown pandemic like Covid. Let’s hope its effects are more confined to the fear created by the media and governments rather than actual human sickness and suffering.

Weekly Market Forecast

The Saturn-Neptune alignment is also one reason why sentiment has been so negative recently in the stock market. This week US stocks are attempting to bounce after last Friday’s low. In last week’s post, I wondered about the possible bearish effects of the Mercury-Mars-Pluto alignment early in the week and indeed we did see some selling today although buyers moved in and stocks finished well off their lows.

Even though the shadows of Saturn and Neptune are hanging over the market, it is quite possible we could see some upside this week. The Mercury-Venus alignment will be close on Wednesday and Thursday and argues for some upside on at least one of those days. But next week’s Saturn retrograde station still looks like an obstacle to be taken seriously. Especially since Saturn will be square Mercury, which also happens to be stationing direct the day before, on Friday June 3.

For more details, check out my weekly subscriber newsletter which is published every Saturday afternoon (EST). In addition to reviewing the key planetary and technical influences on US and Indian stocks for the short and medium term, I also provide an astrological analysis of potential upcoming moves in currencies, gold and oil.

Photo Credit: Sergey Yeliseev